


Growing Up Swan-Mills

by queenC_13



Series: Rain Came Pouring Down [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Baby Fic, Carnival, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, First Dance, First Dates, First Day of School, Firsts, Fluff, Growing Up, Motherhood, Pregnancy, Romance, School Dances, Siblings, magic baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-09 17:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4357190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenC_13/pseuds/queenC_13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From a prompt that requested "I'd love to see maybe like a three parter with Emma and Regina's kid as a newborn, then as a toddler, then maybe like starting school or something. Just a some good old Swan Mills family fluff." So here is the first part!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Emma,” Regina’s slightly breathless voice came through when Emma answered her phone. “It’s time.” 

Immediately Emma dropped her bearclaw on her desk and tried to stand up before pushing her chair back, resulting in her tripping and falling on the floor right in front of her father, who was now looking at her with a simultaneously very confused and panicked expression.

“Emma? What’s wrong?”

“Regina!” she exclaimed, now off the floor and trying to gather all of her things. Before David could say anything she had run out the door and was getting into the driver’s seat of her car when she realized that she had forgotten her keys. She ran back inside and grabbed those, before getting back in the car and realizing that she had now forgotten her phone on her desk. As she ran back into the station this time, David grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look up at him.

“I’ll drive.”

Emma nodded, and followed her father to the cruiser instead of her car, as he figured they could get Regina to the hospital that much faster if they were in the official Sheriff car.

As they pulled into the driveway of the mansion, Emma was out of the car before it even came to a complete stop, tripping and almost falling on her face once again. She recovered quickly and ran towards the front door, throwing it open and yelling Regina’s name.

“I’m ready,” the voice came from the living room, where Regina was sitting calmly on the couch with her packed bag sitting by her feat. It was only 3 days before her due date, but Regina had packed the bag a month in advance stating that anything could happen. Emma knew that she was nervous something would happen to the baby, but right now it seemed that nothing was bothering her at all--let alone that she was even in labor. 

“Are you okay? How far apart are the contractions? Are they really bad? What do you need? Do you want me to carry you?” Emma fired the questions at her wife without leaving Regina any time to answer, and by that point David had walked through the door and put his hands on Emma’s shoulders once again, trying to get her attention.

“Emma, focus. I’ll grab the bag, you help Regina to the car. Stop asking her questions, if Regina needs something she’ll let you know,” he told his daughter firmly.

Regina shot him a thankful look as Emma finally took a deep breath and made her way over to the couch, putting her arm around Regina’s back for support and helping her up.

“I’m fine,” Regina whispered into her wife’s ear, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. 

The ride to the hospital was faster than Emma expected, and before she knew it they were all set up in the hospital room with the nurse monitoring Regina’s progress.

“Only two centimeters dilated,” she reported. “You still have a while to go.” 

Regina’s eyes narrowed a bit, but she didn’t say a word--a true testiment to how far she had come since her days of being the Evil Queen. Her contractions were about seven minutes apart, and she squeezed Emma’s hand each time, sucking in her breath but staying silent.

The two sat in silence for a bit, with Emma having gotten on the bed to sit behind Regina, wrapping her arms around her wife’s stomach, providing comfort for them both.

“You okay?” Emma finally asked, quietly. 

Regina sighed, “I wish you would stop asking me that.”

“Ah, but you forget, I’ve been here before. You don’t have to pretend that it doesn’t hurt,” Emma said. “Although your son had a pretty big head, you might have it easy with our daughter here,” Emma joked, earning an elbow into her stomach and a swift kick that came from Regina’s stomach. 

“Hm, seems like she thinks you should also shut up dear,” Regina said, with a sweet smile that held immense amounts of sarcasm.

Before Emma could say anything, Snow came bursting through the door with Henry behind her. 

“Mom!” he exclaimed, “Are you okay? How’s my sister?”

Regina rolled her eyes as Emma snorted behind her. “Like mother like son,” Regina sing-songed quietly before turning her attention to Henry. “I’m fine, dear, just a bit uncomfortable.”

“Do you want me to get you anything?” Snow interjected. “With Neal we were here for a while, so David especially knows all the stops for making this a bit easier.”

“Thank you, that would be great,” Regina shot Snow a genuine smile, causing Emma to huff with fake annoyance.

“Of course she’s allowed to help you,” Emma muttered. “Not your own wife or anything…” 

“I thought I told you to shut up?” Regina asked, trying to turn around before being hit with a contraction, and leaning back into her wife, squeezing her hand harder than was probably necessary. 

Henry got a vaguely grossed out look on his face and left the room, saying that he was going to call Hook and Lily to let them know what was happening, in which Emma told him to also tell Hook he needed to look after the station since her and David were going to be gone. Snow left shortly after, saying she was going to bring back some ice and other things for Regina, leaving the two alone once again.

“I’m so tired Emma,” Regina finally admitted. “I just want to meet her already.”

“I know,” Emma said softly, kissing the side of Regina’s head. “She’ll be here soon.”

* * *

 

Thirty-six hours later and Emma was regretting those words as Regina was still in labor, and in even more pain than before. Emma felt close to tears herself knowing that there was nothing she could do, and the doctor’s next words intensified that. 

“The baby is breech, which is why this is taking so long. We thought she would turn around on her own, but that’s not going to happen. We’re going to need to perform a c-section.”

Regina looked up at Emma in panic, and she squeezed her wife’s hand in response. “It’ll be okay,” Emma said. “Women get c-sections all the time. And hey, that means you don’t have to push her giant head out, right?”

While it didn’t get the full effect Emma was looking for, Regina did emit the tiniest smile and the crease in her forehead lessened.

Everything moved quickly after that--the two women were brought into the operating room; Regina prepped for the surgery, as Emma was put into scrubs by the other nurses. Finally she moved to Regina’s side as they gave her the anesthesia, holding her hand tight and giving it a kiss. 

The procedure felt like it took no time at all, and before they knew it a loud cry filled the room.

“Regina,” Emma felt as though all of the breath had left her body. “Oh Regina she’s so beautiful.”

“Let me… see her,” Regina said, tired from the anesthesia but still trying to sit up to see their baby. 

One nurse gently held her still as the doctor sewed her back up, and another brought the baby over to Emma and Regina after cleaning her up, and placed her gently in Emma’s arms. 

She was pink faced and screaming her head off, and she was the most beautiful thing that Emma had ever laid eyes on. Slowly Emma bent down and placed the baby on Regina’s chest, seeing the love that she was feeling reflected in Regina’s own eyes.

“Oh Emma,” Regina cried.

Before she could say anything else, Emma leaned forward and kissed Regina on the lips, lingering a bit with their foreheads touching over their newborn daughter.

“What’s her name?” the nurse interrupted. 

“Jenny,” Emma looked up with a smile. “Jenny Cora Swan-Mills.”

* * *

 

_2 weeks later_

“Ma,” Henry groaned as he walked down to the breakfast bar and laid his head on it. “Do babies ever stop crying?” 

The answer in the case of Jenny, was, apparently, no.

The first day they brought her home everything seemed fine, but as it turned out, she was an incredibly fussy baby. She didn’t want to breastfeed, but when they tried a special formula she didn’t want that either. Loud noises caused her to shriek like a banshee, but she also apparently couldn’t cope with complete silence. She never wanted to go to sleep, but once she was awake she didn’t want to leave her bassinet.

Regina had been through a newborn before with Henry, but after seeing her with Jenny, Emma never would have known it. She felt horrible, and could see that Regina was really struggling with their daughter, which in turn was taking a big toll on her mentally.

“I just came down to get some coffee,” Emma told her son sympathetically patting him on the shoulder. For as much as he was grumbling, Henry had actually been a huge help around the house and was taking the big lifestyle change in stride.

“Well I’ve gotta get to school,” Henry said, grabbing his backpack from the floor. “Tell Mom I love her.”

Emma sighed, watching him leave, and then turned towards the stairs and started walking up, closer to the crying.

When she reached the nursery she found Regina in the same place she’d left her, walking around the room, bouncing Jenny frantically and trying to get her to calm down.

“Please,” Regina was begging their daughter. “You have to be hungry baby, why won’t you just eat?”

Her voice had taken on a hysterical note to it, and Emma could sense that she was at the edge of her breaking point. Moving forward, she set her coffee on the dresser and then took the baby from her wife’s arms.

Stroking the baby’s face from the top of her forehead to her ear, she started humming a nonsensical tune, gently pushing Jenny’s ear towards her chest so that Jenny could feel both the vibrations and her heart beat. 

Slowly but surely, the little girl began to calm down and finally started opening and closing her mouth as if searching for a nipple to suck on. Seeing this, Regina moved forward and unbuttoned her shirt, carefully taking the baby from her wife and turning Jenny’s head towards her breast, smiling in relief when the baby latched on.

“You’re a miracle worker,” Regina said, her voice trembling and her eyes slightly welling with tears.

“No,” Emma told her gently, “Babies can sense stress, so she just needed to calm down for a bit. I was reading about colicky babies online and one of the suggestions said for them to listen to your heartbeat, I thought I would try it out. At least we know it works.” 

“For you,” Regina said bitterly.

“Hey,” Emma brought her hand to Regina’s cheek, forcing her wife to look up at her. “For you too. You just have to take a deep breath and try it. She’s eating now--perfectly fine, alright?” 

Regina took a deep breath as per her wife’s suggestion, and nodded. Then she looked down at Jenny, whose eyelids were finally starting to flutter as she finished eating. 

“She really is beautiful, isn’t she?” Regina whispered, her eyes never leaving their daughters face.

“Well,” Emma said, sliding into the chair beside Regina with a smirk. “She is a Swan-Mills.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Swan-Mills family ventures to the Storybrooke carnival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit shorter than the last one, but since my previous oneshot also included their daughter at this age, I hope it's okay. :)

"Neal!” Jenny shot off like a rocket towards her six-year-old uncle, who also happened to be her best friend. Although they were three years apart, there weren’t many children in town their age, and tended to see each other everyday when Snow would babysit Jenny after school.

“Be careful running!” Regina shouted after their daughter, knowing it was useless. She sighed as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her middle and a chuckle sounded in her ear.

“You know she has endless energy,” Emma said, as Henry fell in line beside them.

“Yeah mom, she’s like some kind of superhuman and not a real little girl.”

Regina rolled her eyes at both of them, but smiled at the sight of their daughter giving her uncle a huge hug, with David and a fairly pregnant Snow right beside them.

It was the annual Storybrooke carnival and Jenny was finally at an age where she could go on a few of the rides, and hopefully hold on to some of the memories from it as well. It was Henry’s last summer home before going to college, and Regina insisted that the newly 18 year-old come with them to spend some ‘family time’ with his mothers and grandparents.

“Mommy!” Jenny yelled as they finally caught up to her, “Can I go on the swirly ride?”

She was referring to the tilt-a-whirl, of which had immediately caught her attention on the way into the carnival, but her mothers had ushered her along to meet Snow, David, and Neal instead.

Regina shared a look with Emma, more wary than her wife about their daughter trying something new like an old and possibly questionable carnival ride.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Emma murmured, “But these rides aren’t questionable, you made sure of that yourself. Neal has been on them before, as long as they ride together and we watch them the whole time it will be fine.”

“Fine,” Regina finally conceded, turning back to their daughter and nodding her head, causing the little girl to shriek in excitement.

“But!” Emma interjected, “You have to hold hands with Neal the whole time. And,” she continued, turning towards her brother, “You are to let nothing happen to her. Got it?”

Neal, who seemed to think his older sister was some kind of God, just nodded his head with his eyes wide and serious.

Snow stifled a giggle, happy that while they had a 30 year age gap, Emma was still an amazing big sister and had eventually taken to Neal like a pro. The family moved over towards the rides with Henry walking in between the kids, holding each of their hands, and the four adults walking together.

“How are you feeling?” Emma asked her mom, referring to her pregnancy.

It had been a surprise that after 5 ½ years Snow had gotten pregnant again, but Emma was truly happy for her parents this time around, finally at a place in her life where she was completely content. (Although it would be totally weird for their daughter to now have an aunt or uncle that was younger than her, but that was besides the point.)

“Pretty good,” Snow said with a tired smile, rubbing her 7-month pregnant belly softly. “Kinda just want this little one out of here already.”

“I know the feeling,” Regina joked good-naturedly. “With Jenny I didn’t think I could possibly get any bigger, but then I did.”

Emma scoffed, “Oh hush, you were beautiful for the entire nine months.”

Regina shook her head, but Emma saw the small blush grace her cheeks, letting her know that her wife appreciated the compliment.

Snow shook her head fondly at the two women, happy that her daughter and her former enemy had found such happiness with each other.

They reached the tilt-a-whirl where there was luckily a very short line, and Neal grabbed Jenny’s hand automatically, looking behind him to shoot Emma a proud smile at doing what she said. The adults watched as they finally got to the front of the ride and sat into the small cart together, only letting go of each other’s hands to be strapped in by the ride conductor.

“Are you sure she’s going to be okay?” Regina whispered worriedly to Emma.

“She’ll be fine,” Emma reassured, taking Regina’s hand with a light squeeze. “She is our daughter after all.”

Moments later Emma was proved correct, as the ride started and their daughter let out a shriek of delight. Since the children didn’t carry much weight the ride didn’t spin too much, but they laughed and waved their loose arms around each time it did.

Once the ride was over the two children got off and ran to their parents, still holding hands.

“Did you see!” Jenny exclaimed to her mothers. “That was _so cool_!”

Her excitement was infectious as they carried on, walking around the rest of the rides part of the carnival, letting Neal and Jenny ride the smaller attractions and delighting in their screams each time.

Finally they made it to Emma’s favorite--the bouncy house. While it technically wasn’t a ride, it was one of the only things from Emma’s childhood that carried good memories. When Regina found that out, she made sure that the carnival would have it.

“What is that?” Jenny asked, her chocolate eyes so like Regina’s widening in awe.

“That,” Emma said, coming up behind her daughter and placing her hands on her shoulders, “Is the bouncy house. It was my favorite when I was a kid.”

“You were a kid?” Neal piped up, seeming more in awe of that information than the bouncy house itself.

Emma snorted, “Of course I was, _kid_ ,” she emphasized with a knowing look at Henry, both remembering when she used that nickname on him.

The bounce house was semi-crowded, but it was still decided that Emma would take the children in since Jenny wasn’t quite big enough to be protected just by Neal. She perched her daughter on her hip as they walked over, and then placed Jenny at the opening so she could crawl in. After doing the same for Neal, Emma crawled in herself and was immediately assaulted by the sounds of screaming children that were dimmed from outside the blow-up walls.

“Mama, it’s loud,” Jenny said, looking slightly apprehensive now that she was inside.

“It’ll be fun, come on,” Emma struggled to stand up, but once she did she picked Jenny back up and carried her over to the least crowded part of the house, with Neal hanging onto her shirt to follow. Once they got there, Emma threw her daughter lightly to the ground, just so that Jenny would get the bouncing effect of being in there.

After getting over the shock, Jenny’s eyes lit up with excitement and she clapped as a loud laugh escaped her. “Again, again!”

Emma smiled and threw her daughter again, before picking up her brother and throwing him as well. They repeated this process for about ten minutes, until Emma’s arms started aching and she had to lay down.

This might not have been the best choice, as Jenny and Neal started bouncing in circles around her, causing her body to jolt up with the movement. Finally she reached out and grabbed each of their legs with her hands, causing them to fall on either side of her. She tickled both of them as best as she could, trying to escape their flailing limbs.

“Mama- no!” Jenny bit out, giggling madly.

“Em-ma!” Neal wasn’t fairing much better.

After finally exhausting both of them, Emma stopped and brought her arms around their bodies so they were just laying in a pile on the side of the bouncy house.

“What do you say we go get some food now?” Emma asked, a little breathlessly. She was definitely too old for this.

“Yeah!” the children got back up and cheered, their energy coming back to them for now.

Slowly the group made their way out of the bouncy house and back over to their family, where Regina immediately started laughing at the sight of her rumpled wife.

“You okay?” She asked, smoothing back Emma’s hair and giving her forehead a kiss.

“More than okay,” Emma answered, leaning into her wife with a smile. “I couldn’t be better.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jenny goes through important firsts throughout the years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was supposed to be just one last part, but I couldn't think of a final scenario to put the family in so instead I wrote 4 short ones that span through the years and put them all together in this one chapter! Please let me know what you think :)

**FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN**

Regina woke up to the feeling of being watched, and slowly opened her eyes to see Jenny hovering above her, her dark brown, almost black eyes shining with excitement. As soon as she saw that her mother was awake, her smile grew even wider, which Regina hadn't even been sure was possible.

"Mommy," Jenny tried to whisper, but failed, as she didn't have the whole voice and volume control quite mastered yet. "I start school today."

Regina looked over at the clock, seeing that it was only 6am and they technically didn't have to be awake for another hour. She also saw that while Emma's eyes were still shut next to her, her mouth was turned up in a smirk, clearly listening to the mother/daughter interaction.

"Don't you want to sleep more so you're fully rested to make friends and listen to the teacher?" Regina asked, knowing it was futile.

Jenny was all her-rising with the sun and wanting to start her day immediately. The difference was that after having two kids (and, to be honest, marrying Emma) she appreciated sleeping until it was absolutely necessary to get up.

Finally taking pity on her wife, Emma opened her eyes and took their daughter by surprise, wrapping her hands around Jenny's middle and pulling her off Regina and against her own side.

"I think Mommy wants to sleep some more, little bean," Emma told Jenny with a conspiring look towards Regina.

Jenny scoffed as if she was the one who could tell time and her mother's weren't, "But it's time to wake up Mama!"

"Tell you what, how about I make you some dinosaur pancakes and then I can braid your hair just how you want it. Then Mommy will be awake and she can help you pick out your outfit and make sure you're all ready to leave, okay?"

The trick with their daughter was lots of bargaining. While Jenny wasn't spoiled by any means, her mothers were two of the most stubborn people in the world, and she was bound to have inherited that trait.

Jenny seemed to think that was acceptable, and hopped off the bed before running out of the room and scampering down the stairs.

"Thank you," Regina mumbled, already falling back asleep. Emma just smiled fondly and kissed her wife on the head before following her daughter out of the room. Emma didn't like to get up early either, but she had learned that being around an enthusiastic child (and a large cup of coffee) did just the trick.

She put the radio on quietly while Jenny sat at the kitchen island as Emma cooked, and the two sang softly together, taking a brief break for Emma to swing Jenny around a bit in a mock-dance. After eating and making as minimal mess as possible, the two moved upstairs where Jenny insisted that Emma put her hair in a braided crown.

The five-year-old's hair was halfway down her back; thick, blonde, and wavy just like her mother's. Luckily Emma had gotten quite good at doing her own hair over the years, so she was able to do the same for their daughter, who loved getting told what a princess she looked like when her hair was styled just like Emma's and filled with different braids.

Before Emma knew it, Regina was coming into the room to join them, so Emma left to get Regina a cup of coffee herself.

A half an hour later and the family of three was on their way to school. Regina was driving and trying not to clench the steering wheel too hard, not wanting Emma to pick up on how nervous she really was. However, as soon as they got out of the car, Emma took her hand anyway and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"You did this with Henry," she said softly, "You can do it again now."

That was true, but this was their  _little girl_. She had quickly become everything in Regina's world, and Regina didn't know what she would do now that Jenny was growing up so quickly.

"Really, it can't be worse than dropping Henry off at college," Emma said, now sounding as though she was reassuring herself.

That day had been two years ago, and Regina had held it together much better than Emma at the time. It was a testament to how strong they were together that while one was falling apart, the other one was taking control and handling the situation.

Which was what was happening right now, with Emma taking Jenny's hand and starting to walk towards the school, making their way to the Kindergarten classroom. The teacher was actually Ella, who had gotten her teaching degree once their own child was old enough to be in school, and that was part of the reason that Emma felt much better about Jenny going to school-she trusted Ella completely, and they were good enough acquaintances that she wasn't a complete stranger to Jenny.

"You have everything you need right?" Emma double checked as they got Jenny settled into the classroom. "Mommy made your lunch just the way you like it, and there's a couple snacks as well."

Jenny just nodded, paying more attention to her new surroundings than what her mother was telling her.

"Hey," Emma called Jenny's attention back to her. "Remember, if you feel uncomfortable or you want to go home or anything, just tell Miss Ella and she can call us, okay?"

"Okay Mama," Jenny smiled, getting off her chair to hug her mother. She then turned to Regina, who had been silent through the entire conversation and was looking closer and closer to tears. "Love you Mommy, see you later!" she said, before running off and introducing herself to another kid, clearly less emotional about the whole ideal than Regina.

"She'll be okay," Emma said, guiding Regina out of the classroom and wrapping her arm around her. "And if anyone messes with her, well, they'll just have to be reminded that she has the Evil Queen as a mother."

That got Regina to roll her eyes and snort, finally producing her first smile of the day and now believing that their daughter really would be okay.

She had to grow up sometime.

* * *

 

**FIRST CASE OF BULLYING (AGE 10)**

Jenny crept down the stairs and peaked around the corner into the kitchen, making sure her mothers were occupied. It was about the time that they made dinner every night, although from her point of view it seemed like they did more kissing than cooking.

Jenny's face scrunched up at the thought.  _Yuck_.

After seeing that they weren't paying attention to anything but each other, she went back up the stairs as quietly as she could and snuck into their room, taking hold of the cordless phone on their bedside table.

Dialing the number by heart, she laid down flat on her back and chewed her lip anxiously.

"Hello?"

"Henry!" she exclaimed, her heart filling with relief. While her brother was 25 now and working as a junior editor in Boston, they still remained pretty close. He was the person that Jenny looked up to most in the world, and there was no one else she needed to talk to more than him at the moment.

"Hey kid," he replied easily. "What's up? Mom and Ma making  _dinner_?"

Jenny rolled her eyes at the comment. Her whole family was so disgusting. Plus, there were more important things to talk about.

"I need your help," she admitted.

There was silence on the other end for a moment, as Jenny had grown up all too independent and he could probably count on one hand the number of times that she had seriously asked him for help.

"What's wrong?"

Jenny took a deep breath. "Well… there's these girls at school…"

"What are they saying to you?" Henry's voice was filled with anger.

"Not much…"

"Jenny."

"It's just… they go on a lot about how I don't have a dad. They say that I'm going to turn out a lesbian just like moms… They act like that's a terrible thing."

A deep sigh came through to Jenny's ear. This was why Jenny had called her brother-he was the most level headed person in their family. While she could mostly stand up for herself, Jenny wanted advice for how to ignore them or shut these girls up for good. She knew that Emma would want to suggest violence, and Regina would go into one of her scary quiet moods, and wouldn't get over it for a few days.

"And you've tried ignoring them?"

Jenny scoffed.

"Right, of course you have. Well I know you don't want to go to a teacher…"

"That will just make it worse Henry." Maybe she shouldn't have called him after all.

"... But I think you should go to Grandma," Henry finished.

Jenny paused. "Seriously?"

"I mean you haven't really had reason to see it in your life, but Grandma can be pretty scary. Especially when she's angry."

Henry was right. All Jenny had seen of her Grandmother was a sweet, loving, and over attentive woman. That also happened to be the same age as her Ma, and had two kids around Jenny's own age… which wasn't confusing at all growing up.

Jenny thought it over. "I guess I can try it."

"Great!" Henry seemed glad that this was solved. For now at least. "Let me know how that works out. If it doesn't, we can just think of something new, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you."

"I love you," Henry said. "Talk to you later."

"Bye," Jenny hung up the phone, and snuck back downstairs right before she was called to dinner, successfully avoiding getting caught and questioned by one of her mothers.

The next day she took Henry's advice and went to her grandmother before school started. The rage in her grandma's eyes was certainly something new, and Jenny almost felt bad for the girls as she pointed them out. Almost.

Later that night she emailed her brother two words, "thank you," knowing she could give him all the details when he came home for a break. She smiled to herself, glad that this was all done without her parents intervening as well. She loved having an older brother.

* * *

 

**FIRST SCHOOL DANCE (AGE 13)**

When Jenny started middle school a new girl arrived in her grade, which was unusual since new people only came to Storybrooke once every couple of years. Her name was Quinn, and she had long raven hair with startling blue eyes. Even at 13 years old the girl looked like a model, which is why all of the other kids seemed too frightened to talk to her.

However, Quinn's first day of school had been when Jenny was absent, so when she got back the teacher had assigned her to be Quinn's "buddy" to get her acclimated to the school. The two clicked instantly, and while Jenny wasn't short of friends at school, Quinn soon became her closest friend. She was included in nearly all of Jenny's stories at home, and her mothers always smirked at what they thought was an obvious crush.

The one thing Jenny apparently forgot to mention, however, was that Quinn was a girl. It wasn't on purpose, but gender pronouns never seemed to come up.

In Jenny's mind, she felt a connection to Quinn but just assumed it was because she had never had a friendship so good before. She obviously wasn't offended by homosexuality, but as a 13 year-old, she also just assumed that the boys in her grade were too immature to be interested in.

So when a school dance was coming up at the beginning of October, it only seemed natural for her and Quinn to go together as friends.

"So I hear there's a dance coming up?" Emma said one night while they were eating dinner.

Jenny looked up from her food in suspicion, "Yeah…?"

"Are you going with anyone?"

"No," Jenny narrowed her eyes. "Just with Quinn as friends since it's our first dance."

"Ah," Emma said with some sort of knowing look, to which Regina shot her a not-so-subtle glare.

"What?" Jenny asked, a bit testily.

"It just seems like you two are pretty close."

"We're best friends, Ma."

"You sure it's not… more than that?"

At Jenny's huff, Regina finally let out a soft, " _Emma_ ," who dropped the subject with a displeased look. No one mentioned it for the rest of the night, and then the only time it was brought up after that was when Regina took Jenny shopping for a dress. Shopping together was a sacred time, and Jenny was glad to be away from Emma's constant looks of questioning.

The only thing Regina asked about the subject was if they were coordinating colors, to which Jenny answered "no."

The night of the dance Jenny informed them that Quinn would be dropped off at their house. Regina was still helping her with some light make-up when the doorbell ring, and they could hear Emma's slight "Oh!" of surprise all the way from upstairs, before her introductions were made and she called up for Jenny.

It was as they were walking down the stairs that Regina figured out where Emma's surprise was coming from-the two of them finally finding out that Quinn was a girl.

She reminded Regina a bit of herself, with the sleek dark hair and the dress done to perfection. Emma could clearly also see the resemblance, as she was looking between the two girls with a slight smile, obviously biting the inside of her cheek so as not to say anything.

"You look really pretty," Quinn said with a smile, before politely introducing herself to Regina. Regina, who also didn't fail to notice the slight blush on her daughter's cheeks.

They took a couple of pictures where the girls stood awkwardly next to each other, before Jenny finally said, " _Moms_ ," with a slight huff, signalling that she wanted to be on their way. After working out that Quinn's parents would drop the girls off and Emma and Regina would pick the up, the girls finally left and Emma shut the door before turning around to Regina with a giant smile on her face.

"Think she knows?"

Regina sighed, "Knows what, dear?" (Although she had a pretty good idea of what Emma was talking about.)

"That her and Quinn are totally gonna fall in love?"

"Honestly, Emma. You'd think that  _you_  were the 13 year-old in the house," Regina rolled her eyes.

"You can't say I'm wrong."

"..."

Emma came right up to Regina, and leaned forward so they were breathing each other's air, but not quite close enough that their lips were touching. Regina's eyes darkened, and Emma immediately felt when her breathing picked up.

"Say I'm right," she breathed, before capturing Regina's lips in a sensual kiss, feeling her wife moan slightly and lean into it.

"You're right," Regina finally muttered. "But you can be the one to talk to her when she has her gay-panic."

Emma snorted, "Deal."

* * *

 

**FIRST DATE (AGE 16)**

Emma was in the living room watching a movie one night when Jenny came and sat down next to her. She didn't really pay any mind to it until the teen slowly laid down and put her head in Emma's lap.  _That_  caused her to slightly panic, as the 16 year-old was now in the phase of not wanting to be seen or hugged by her mothers.

However, she also knew that like herself, her daughter couldn't be pushed to talk about her feelings, so she slowly started stroking Jenny's hair and waited for her to speak.

Finally, with a sigh, she did, "How did you ask Mom out?"

Except this was nowhere near the question that Emma was expecting, and her hand stopped stroking her daughter's hair with a jolt, causing Jenny to sit up and look at her curiously.

"I think it's finally time you hear the real story about how your mom and I got together," Emma confessed after a moment.

Emma and Regina hadn't been entirely truthful when telling their backstory, mostly because they didn't want to scare Jenny away from relationships (as she had a tendency to act like both of them), but also because the girl had never been seriously interested in their love story before having her.

"I was in love with your mom for at least a year without ever making a move. We were best friends, and I was scared of ruining that. We were supposed to be finding her happy ending, but after more time went by I thought that that happy ending was me… then one day, it turned out that it wasn't. Or so I thought, for at least another six months."

For the next fifteen or so minutes, Emma regaled her daughter of the distance between her and Regina, the brief relationship between her and Lily, and the letters that had defined their whole relationship at the time. That when it finally came down to it, Regina was the one to ask Emma out after building back up their friendship and trust.

"Wow," Jenny said. "You guys were really stupid."

"Hey!" Emma shoved her daughter playfully, making them both laugh before Jenny got a serious look on her face again.

"That still doesn't help me though."

Emma paused, before finally speaking up, "Is it Quinn?"

Jenny looked up sharply. "How did you know?"

"Honey… you two haven't been that discrete," Emma chuckled softly. "Your mother and I have known since you were 13 and she came over to get you for that school dance."

"But I never…"

"Thought you were gay? Just thought you had never had a friend that close before?" Emma said. "I felt the same way with Lily when I was your age, but the difference is we grew apart… we weren't right. You'll never know if Quinn is right until you try."

Jenny thought for a second before nodding slightly, determination coming to her eyes. "You're right. Thanks Ma," she kissed Emma on the cheek, before hugging her tighter than Emma could remember in a while. After she went back upstairs to her room, presumably to call Quinn, Emma made her way to Regina's study where she was doing some paperwork.

"You owe me twenty bucks," she said, walking up to the desk and shoving the papers aside lightly before sitting in front of Regina and drawing the other woman forward between her legs, so that Emma's face was only slightly above her wife's.

Regina looked confused for a moment, before comprehension dawned on her face.

" _No!_ "

"Yupp," Emma chuckled. "She asked me how I first asked you on a date…"

"Oh no," Regina groaned, leaning her forehead onto Emma's shoulder.

"I had to tell her," Emma said. "But it worked… I think she's on the phone with Quinn right now."

Sure enough only minutes later their daughter burst into the room with a smile on her face and squealed, "She said yes!" before running back up to her room.

The next night was a different story, where instead of excitement Jenny was like a tornado blowing through her room and having a proper melt down. Finally her mothers sat her down and Regina picked out an outfit while Emma did her hair, remnant of her elementary school days. Then Regina moved onto Jenny's make-up, and Emma answered the door as finishing touches were being added.

As she opened the front door, Quinn was standing there in slacks and a dressy shirt, holding a bouquet of flowers.

"Hi Mrs- um, Emma," she said, rubbing one of her palms on her slacks.

Emma could tell she must be incredibly nervous, because her manners always kicked in and she wanted to call them by their proper names. Emma just smiled reassuringly and said, "You look beautiful, Quinn," causing the girl to blush, but look slightly more relaxed at the stamp of approval. Then her eyes grew wide as she looked behind Emma, who turned around to also watch her daughter walk down the stairs.

The two teens only had eyes for each other, however, as both seemed to be completely speechless. After complimenting each other with awkward glances towards Emma and Regina, the two left and immediately walked towards Quinn's car.

Jenny looked back to make sure her mom's weren't watching through the window, and then pulled Quinn to a stop right outside the passenger door, taking the other girl's hands.

"You really do look amazing," Jenny breathed, her eyes sparkling.

"Thank you," Quinn said with a bashful smile. "I'm so glad you asked me out."

Jenny looked down, squeezing Quinn's palms anxiously, "I was so afraid you would say no." A hand gently let go of her own and instead caught her chin, forcing her head up so she could look into Quinn's eyes.

"I've wanted to ask you out for over a year," Quinn admitted. "But I thought you could never go for me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Jenny snorted, "We're just as bad as my mothers."

Then she made a bold move and leaned forward, gently giving Quinn a kiss before pulling back, waiting for a moment until Quinn opened her eyes again.

"Just to break the tension before this turns into one of those awkward first dates," Jenny smirked.

She was then caught by surprise herself by Quinn catching her lips again, this time in a more heated embrace. They were only broken apart by Emma's shout out the front window of, "Get a room!" and then Regina's more muffled shout of, "Emma! Do  _not_  encourage that!" and both started chuckling, before Quinn opened the passenger door for Jenny to get in.

Jenny's only thought as they started driving was that yes, being with Quinn definitely felt right.


End file.
